Every parking spot at the International Space Station is currently occupied

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Here’s an awesome photo to start your day: The International Space Station currently has five spacecraft docked to it — the most that can be currently attached. If any of the world’s space agencies, or private companies like SpaceX were to send up another spacecraft today, they’d need to circle until another parking space becomes available (which is tomorrow, incidentally).

The spacecraft docked to the ISS are as follows: Soyuz TMA-12M, Soyuz TMA-13M, Cygnus 2, Progress 56, and ATV-5. The two Soyuz spacecraft are for ferrying Expedition 39/40 and 40/41 to and from Earth. The remaining three capsules are unmanned resupply vehicles. In case you’re wondering, no, I don’t know how NASA captured the photo at the top of the story — presumably there’s a camera on the far edge of the ISS’s solar array? Or it’s a render.

The Russian Progress M-14M resupply craft, as it approaches the ISS for docking.

Cygnus 2 is the second commercial resupply mission by Orbital Sciences, which so far, in addition to SpaceX, is the only other space company to have picked up a lucrative NASA commercial resupply contract. Unlike the SpaceX Dragon capsule, Cygnus cannot return to Earth, instead burning up in the atmosphere. In other words, after delivering up to 2,000 kilos (4,400 lbs) to the ISS, the Cygnus is essentially a glorified waste disposal machine. (The astronauts aboard the ISS load it up with waste, and then kick it off into Earth’s atmosphere.)

ATV-1 (Jules Verne) attached to the ISS in 2008 (ATV-1 is at the bottom of the photo). The photo was taken by an astronaut aboard Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-124).

ATV-5 is notable as the European Space Agency’s last resupply mission to the ISS. The ATV, or Automated Transfer Vehicle, is a beastly spacecraft with a payload of up to 7,700 kilos (17,000 lbs) — about twice that of any other resupply spacecraft. It too lacks the ability to return to Earth, instead burning up in the atmosphere.

The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), which will be attached to the ISS through 2015-2017.

There are actually two remaining docking points on the International Space Station — PMA-2 and PMA-3 — but since the retirement of the Space Shuttle, there haven’t been any vehicles that can use them. PMA-2, which stands for Pressurized Mating Adapter, will probably be used by whoever wins the race to develop the next manned spacecraft — most likely Boeing’s CST-100 or SpaceX’s Dragon V2. PMA-3 is scheduled to be used next year by the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module — a temporary module that will test whether inflatable/expandable spacecraft are viable or not. PMA-1, in case you’re wondering, is permanently in use: It’s where the US (Unity) and Russian (Zarya) halves of the space station join.

The Cygnus capsule is scheduled to be jettisoned tomorrow, Friday. Some of Expedition 40 will then leave on the Soyuz TMA-12M capsule on September 11, and then SpaceX’s CRS-4 Dragon capsule will arrive a few days later on September 18.

But no doubt that the title image is CGI, the shading looks too unnatural.

VirtualMark

Someone needs to photoshop the USS Enterprise onto that image, then it’ll be complete.

Dozerman

Heh, I’m not much of a trekkey, so the first thing that popped into my head wass the aircraft carrier. Now *THAT* would be a sight!

VirtualMark

Yeah that would be amusing.

I’m a huge Trekkie, mainly because that’s how I’d like the future to be – humanity is enlightened and has done away with things like money and greed.

But I fear that the future might be more like the Aliens movies – corporate greed and a world full of idiots.

Even worse, it could be like the movie Idiocracy, where evolution works in reverse.

This is of course assuming that we don’t blow ourselves up in the meantime.

Dozerman

Let’s see… several episodes of TNG, a LOT of Voyager (it was on when I came home from school), a few episodes of the original season, and one of DSN, and I never realized that they didn’t use money. I guess I just wasn’t paying enough attention.

You and I both know that humans -in our current state- will never move away from conflict. For every person that wants to work together, there will be 12 who don’t.

I highly doubt idiocracy will ever happen. IQ scores these days are actually rising, although that is more environmental than genetic. It seems that we’re more or less diverging, with intelligent people having kids with intelligent people and idiots having kids with idiots.

Folatt

How could you not see it being a render?

The orange tint of the solar panels, lack of detail overall and missing shadows and reflection should have been a dead give-away.

conservativemind12

Yeah I thought the same, perhaps he needs a new prescription.

http://www.mrseb.co.uk/ Sebastian Anthony

I do actually have -4.5/-5 vision…

conservativemind12

Haha I’m not quite there yet! Get yourself back down specsavers!

http://www.mrseb.co.uk/ Sebastian Anthony

So far I’ve just been compensating with larger and larger screens. I sometimes wonder if having a 42-inch plasma TV a couple of feet from my face is a good idea.

Folatt

I take that back. And I apologize. I should have known this from just looking at my friends and colleagues…
Plus I’m about to get eye-lasered myself, but I have 0/-3 vision.

Dozerman

PRK or lasik? I had PRK about two years ago and it’s awesome.

Techutante

I had Lasik and I can’t complain. That was almost a decade ago, and I’m only off to about 20/40.

niico100

wow this is SO OBVIOUSLY a CGI render not a photograph. I think you need glasses….

Dozerman

Dude, unless mobile view is set uo different, I’m about 99.9999979 percent sure that’s a render that the top…

Joe

Busy place. I think its time to start talking about expanding it, or better having a fully commercial space station in LEO. Or perhaps a space station at the Lagrange point between Earth and the Moon. That would be a good stopping off point before moving out to mine asteroids or visit some friends on Mars.

I’m thinking a main section that has cargo/docking ports like an airport terminal. You would also need living quarters, research office space for scientists and a galley for meals.

A hydroponics or aquaponics bay could provide fresh produce and fish. And with the new 3D food printer that the US Army is working on, meals could be made directly from basic materials shipped up there on resupply missions.

If you build the station in sections similar to how cruise liners are built that could also cut down on the cost. Once somebody breaks the ceiling on this and does it once, then a lot more players will enter the field.

http://www.jposterman.com J.P. Osterman

Parking space an issue in space…wow!

greatnesslostislegend

Darn. I was planning to get there this weekend. My new ship. Magnetic drive.

Serious note: Noticed the hit piece by Forbes about Space X today? It is getting bad folks. Tuckering Space X is picking up steam. To prevent feedback about this story Forbes is blocking commentary.

Forbes alleges:

– Falcon – 9 is unable to lift payloads in excess of 3750 pounds to the ISS, when in fact it delivered 5,000 pounds on its last mission. The author slyly included a Falcon – 9 that flew with Merlin C engines, not D, that is less capable, and discontinued. F-9 version 1.1 can put more into orbit than Atlas V.

– Falcon -9 has too many failures to be considered for Air Force contracts. Really? It has flown how many times (V 1.1)? The author cited an upper stage failure to re-ignite. Well that was a Falcon 1 experimental mission, and F-1 does not fly anymore. Yes the first F-9 flight had a Merlin C failure, however it completed the mission. It is designed to lose a first stage engine.

-Space X is failing to fulfill its contract with NASA to supply the ISS, claiming there is no way this company can launch the number of missions necessary. Well truth is one has delivered flown, three more are scheduled this year, four next year, and two in 2016. Last I checked that is 12 missions, per the contract were originally scheduled through that date. No surprise here.

-Dragon leaked after splash down, “possibly contaminating” vital experiments. Nice shot. You open the hatch, saltwater splashed from its seal into the cargo compartment. This dolt doesn’t realize if a capsule “leaks” during re-entry it will not land safely at all.

-This author claimed ULA is competitive, and Space X his running at a loss. Maybe. I noted its last commercial flight charged $61 million and change. Orbital sciences charged $1.9 billion for 8 commercial flight to the ISS, $237.5 million per flight. Atlas V is well north of $300 million. Space X $1.6 billion for 12 flights is $133.33 million per flight.

Keep watching. The old boys’ network attack on Space X has just beginning.

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